From the eyes of Ironhide
by FullstopBlaster
Summary: Ironhide is working out some personal issues Post TF2009 things dealing with his life now as it is, Chromia, and their former life on Cybertron. One Shot IronhidexChromia.


The eyes of Ironhide:

Ironhide's had a rough couple of days :D

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I would say I have had better days, but that would be an understatement to say the least. I looked down around me I kicked the head of a Decepticon away from my foot. The sand was in every joint I had, and even a few I didn't know I had. I didn't want to look at it, the pain was terrible, and the pain filled my leg and hip joint. The lines cascaded over my wrists and hands, almost impossible for me to keep all my parts internalized. I turned around looking for everyone seeing Optimus ahead. The humans were picking up the last of their soldiers and equipment from the final confrontation, and the rest of the Autobots, save Jolt and Ratchet, were counting Decepticons and taking stock of who was and wasn't there.

"Ironhide…" Sideswipe walked up beside me and I turned my head. "Megatron and Starscream are nowhere to be found." He said quietly "Ratchet and Jolt are taking care of Arcee and Chromia." He said looking at me.

"What's the matter with Chromia?" I asked firmly turning optics instinctively looking for her.

"Got the energon knocked out of her I suspect, she got slammed down pretty hard by Starscream." He turned "I can take care of this…" he looked at Jetfire's remains. "What do we do with him?"

"With the honor goes the glory…He is now considered our Honorable Dead" I said quietly. "Make sure he is taken back with us…he will be placed with Jazz."

"But Ironhide…"

"Optimus would not have him stay here..." I said "He comes with us." I pointed to the ground and turned "I'll be with Ratchet." I took my hand off my torso plate and saw the energon spill out. Replacing my hand I nodded "I need to get this fixed anyhow."

"All right." He nodded and lifted up the cane that Jetstorm had been using and held it thoughtfully in his hands. I turned leaving him like that. Just standing there, Sideswipe was young yet, and still didn't know where he quite belonged. His brother had not been seen for many Stellar Cycles and we were doing our best to keep him hopeful.

I walked slowly past Optimus and looked up at him. "We'll take Jetstorm back with us." I said eyes glancing down to the humans. Optimus only nodded and put a hand on my shoulder panel. "I'm alright." I grunted.

"Get to Ratchet." He nodded. I only waved him off and moved to where jolt was. Jolt looked up at me and blinked.

"Well hello there ….Mr. finally wants to be fixed." He said to me with a smirk.

"I got hit." It was all I could muster; yes I know I'm too proud sometimes.

"Hey…take a seat." He said and motioned me to a large rock "Take your arm back." I did slowly showing him the severed lines and cables. Coolent leaking over my hands and joints.

"Oh hang on…" he turned "RATCHET! Over here!" he said quickly. His hands began to scan my torso.

Ratchet looked up from Arcee and nodded "You'll be ok until we get back to the NEST facility." He pat her leg "Get into transport mode and start your diagnostics…I'll check them when you are done."

"Of course." She smiled at him softly; he gave her the same quiet smile. I saw how they looked at one another, any bot could see it but everyone was so busy with the mass insanity. Dead Decepticons were littered everywhere luckily we got out with very few dings and scratches. I looked down, at least I hoped so. I looked up to meet Ratchet's optics.

"Look at you…let you out of your box for a few minutes and you go and get yourself slagged to bits." He said "Move your hand." His head tilted over and I moved my hand. "Pit slagger…" he said quietly and knelt down. "Gonna have to get that line replaced." He said quietly and then looked up "Arcee you and Jolt go look for a offline Decepticon, military class find some more of these lines, we need to replace this." He pointed down I just held the line with my metallic fingers to keep them pinched together. I didn't speak I was very uncomfortable. "Not gonna be a top notch job until we are home, just a field patch to get you through."

"We'll find some how many feet do you need?" Arcee put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder.

He looked over me closely and made general measurements. "Bring me 50 feet of whatever you can find…I have a lot of line that need rerun." He said softly poking at my insides. "then get to stasis mode and get your diagnostics running." He ordered her. "we'll get back home and get all this sorted out."

I could see Chromia look over at me from fifty yards she was helping Arcee and Jolt look for those lines. I could feel my optics going slowly offline. "Ratchet." I said.

"Don't transform whatever you do..it's easier for me to rerun the lines in this mode. Please deactivate your transforming codes." I turned my head and I did it with a click. Ratchet being the medic could probably read which of my systems were online. "Alright …you can go offline…I'll have you fixed up in a bit and I'll online you soon."

I felt my optics dim, and then everything was black, I think I was dreaming. I could see Chromia, the stasis pod, and her on her knees, her sisters leaving. Optimus, and the femme bot with him. In the middle of the scene the images began to blur and shake and even out, till my optics slowly opened. I awoke slowly looking around; I was back in the NEST hanger in the united states.

"Ironhide?" Optimus..it was Optimus talking to me.

"Prime?" I asked optics blinking slowly.

"Yes…" he said as I rolled forward a bit.

"Give me some room?" I asked and prime stepped back. I activated my transformation codes and willed myself to stand up transforming slowly I looked down Ratchet had done a wonderful job I looked almost good as new. "How long has it been?" I looked around checking my internal chronometer.

"Four days." He said softly and he was right, my internal systems were showing an offline time of four days and six hours. I nodded slowly and checked all my systems. "You had the worst of our injuries." He said "we kept you in stasis lock until we could get you fully operational.

"everyone else?" I asked not asking really what I wanted to.

"She's fine." Damn prime and his ability to read my processor, but we've known each other for a long time, it's not unexpected. I just waved him off. "You did wonderful Ironhide, in my absence you really took to leadership."

"I did what I had to do Optimus." I said looking up at him "It's not the same with you gone, but we would have gone on fighting for this." I motioned, my gesture meant for the Earth. He only nodded. He put a hand on my shoulder

"You've done exceptionally well Ironhide." I wanted to roll my optics.

"Stop that." I said and walked forward.

"Ratchet wants you to take it easy." He said "No combat for another week."

"Out of the question the Decepticons will not wait." I waved a stubborn hand.

"One week." He commanded and turned leaving the hanger slowly transforming outside it before rolling off to his own hanger. I stood a bit befuddled but then realized he was right I was in no condition for combat at all even though I wanted it. I turned and looked down at my torso; there next to my right hip joint I could see the patches and the new cables. I sighed and out of the corner of my eye a flash of blue. I looked up.

"You're looking much better." Her voice was soft and gentle.

"I feel better." I lied; I didn't feel any better than I had on the sand in Egypt. Chromia hovered up slowly to get her optics at my level. "how are you?"

"I'm fine I tore a connecting line to my cannon." She nodded lifting up her left arm to show me the patch work and new wires. I took her left arm in my hands and turned her cannon over and gave it a look. "It's fine." I said looking it over "Nothing we can't fix…" I smirked "How did it handle?"

"Very well, that is till I got hit."

"I just want to be sure it's not going to jam and kill you." I said voice full of more concern than I was intending. I slid a hand under the blue plate panel and detached it from her arm and took it into my hands.

"You made it for me Ironhide." Chromia put a hand on my front left fender plate. "It's fine." She was right everything was in place I was just being a stubborn old war bot. I slid it back down onto her arm. Taking her hands I turned them over in mine and contented I let her weapon on her forearm fall down into the recesses it normally stored into.

"And you?" I asked.

"Now that you are fully operational I am better." She nodded. "good to have you back you old Slagger." She said lovingly. I shook my head at her.

"I like it when you talk like that." I said as a matter of fact and touched her face plate softly.

"Make you feel powerful?"

"No." I picked her up in my arms and held her feeling her weight in my arms as her thrusters died down. "But this does." I said quietly. I blinked, I heard it. I turned my head. "hear that?"

"Hear what?" she asked.

"Yo Shut up!" Skidz.

"No you shut up..he's gonna hear us." And his brother mudflap.

"Get the picture!"

"Screw you…you take it." I could hear them exchanging between them.

"You two better get the Slag out of my hanger!" I yelled firmly. Toward a small side area that was covered in tarps that were moving. "I may be off of active duty." I pulled my air cannon out "But I can still knock you proto-forms on your tailpipes."

"Ironhide…" Chromia put a hand on my neck joint "Stop..."

"No." I set her down softly allowing her to start her thrusters before I stepped away "I'm gonna put you both offline." I saw skids first as the green car slid out "OUT!" I Shot a large Air burst not enough to hurt the two of them but at least catch them off guard and get them moving.

"Come on bro!" Mudflap turned over in the rubble and stood up and then blinked his optics at me before turning and transforming following his brother out.

"I swear to Primus." I muttered "I online for 20 minutes and I don't get any peace." I could hear Chromia laughing softly as she came up to me. Hands on my right arm. I sighed "care to go for a drive?" there was a smirk on my face for sure at this point.

"We can't leave base right now." She said quietly and rubbed at my arm.

I turned my head turning on my radio. "Lennox."

"Hey big guy how was your nap?"

"We are on lock down?" I asked ignoring his question.

"Yeah, did you want to go somewhere?" he asked. I looked at Chromia and sighed and then looked up.

"The tree." I admitted.

"You're tree out on the ridge?"

"Yeah." I said quietly and fought my pride for a moment "Please…"

"I like your girlfriend hide…she's good for you." I saw Chromia beam as I rolled my optics. "Get to the west gate I'll let you out…" He nodded. "just know you have to be back before dawn." He said quietly.

"Understood." I looked at her and I transformed down revving my engine. She turned over slowly wheels hitting the ground and her hologram appeared in the seat of the Motorcycle. "Let's go." I said quietly to her. "Are you?" I began but she cut me off.

"I'm separated from my sisters…" she nodded. "We will be alone…" I was relieved at this, bad enough the twins wanted to spy on us, but when the femmes work together they all share a mind, it helps them work in tandem and be on the same page without arguing or struggling to find each other, but it's good to know they can separate their conscious thought . I revved my engine again and rolled out of the hanger slowly she was at my left side now and her hologram turned and smiled at me. I didn't bother with my hologram, my windows were tinted enough.

"Ironhide?" I shook the fog from my processor and turned my attention to her.

"What?" I asked.

"We going or are you going idle on the pavement all night?" She asked pulling out onto the loose gravel road. Most of us don't drive ourselves out, mostly it's trailers here and there. Lennox and I have an agreement. He sits in the driver seat I drive myself.

"I apologize, let's go." I rolled ahead and headed for the gate. William was standing there he smiled and opened the chain around the gate and pushed it back.

"Be nice and treat her like a lady," he smiled

"Thank you Lennox" I grunted at his statement.

"Do we need to have the birds and the bees talk?" he asked.

"I don't wish to discuss your flying wildlife or Bumblebee." I said. Lennox laughed and after a moment Chromia did too. "stop it the both of you." I did my web search and sighed gruffly. "just let us out."

"Have a good time kids." Lennox waved slowly as we rolled through the gap in the fencing.

"You do realize I'm centuries older than you." I offered the information to him.

"You do realize you're new to this planet yeah?" he laughed and relocked the gate. "I'll be here at dawn to let you in." he said.

"Understood." I said and Chromia and I rolled off down the small gravel road.

"I hate this loose gravel." She said quietly following me. She was sliding awful badly around the dirt the gravel was too deep for her skinny tires, but then again I liked her tires the way they were.

"You can get into my bed if you like …I can carry you out of it." I slowed to a stop and lowered my tail gate. She rolled behind me and revved up her small engine and got up on her back tire and landed hard on the tail gate and pulled her arms out of her body and pulled herself up. Holding herself in place I closed my tail gate. "Softer next time." I said gruffly.

"There gravity is different here than on Cybertron." She observed.

"It is." I said quietly and carried her off of the gravel road from the NEST hangers. The tree on the ridge, or just the tree, as we call it is only 20 miles from our base. It's nice and close and it's a quiet place to just get away. I kept my sensors on full sweeping the area just in case. I knew for sure I was not in any condition to do any sort of fighting. However I would not lose a moment of ground should I be ambushed. Chromia's hands were extended down into my bed half out of her transport mode her hands ran softly between the slats in my bed lining. I almost purred I think, it felt so nice I could have just parked and let her continue. She fully transformed lying in the bed just petting me. I was hoping Lennox had kept the twins at the base; I would be embarrassed to be seen like this.

"Ironhide?" she asked softly.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do you remember how we use to be?" she asked. I knew well.

"When you were still in intelligence and didn't need the plasma cannon?" I asked.

"Yes." She smiled softly. I stood letting her slide slowly out of the bed onto the ground and I turned around. "It was a long time ago."

"Cybertron is no more." I said quietly.

"I know." She said coming to me and stood before me. "but that does not mean I do not long for days past." She closed her optics solemnly and looked out.

"Chromia…" I didn't know what she was feeling I put a hand to her shoulder plating.

"I'm alright Ironhide." She spoke softly reaching a hand back to rest on mine. I liked this. I could stay like this always; at her side.

"You are a terrible liar." I said looking down to her. "you would not last in an interrogation"

"That I am…and I would…I just wouldn't speak." she sighed "I just …want us to get over what happened on Cybertron…you never did forgive yourself."

"I don't think I ever will." I said. "That does not mean my spark does not long for you." I can't believe I just said that, it didn't even sound right to me. It just came out, it was impulse.

"Do you think of it?" she asked.

"Of course…like you every solar cycle I think about it." I said and knelt down. "Chromia we, however, must get over this." I said quietly, I wasn't fully putting the blame on her I could never do such a thing but taking it upon myself to show that we share the blame. "None of the hatchlings survived…Prime and Elita lost theirs too." I said.

"I know." She Choked up. "I just wish we could have done something."

"I know…" I said I couldn't find it in my spark to say more.

"Do the others know?" she asked.

"Only Ratchet would know, a medic bot could tell…and Optimus...as our hatchlings were in the same nesting chambers." I turned her to face me. "Chromia there will be a time, when we can have a hatchling again." He said softly. "but we must honor the one we lost …it is with the matrix." I raised my hand, I am not a bot of faith but every cybertronian knows of The Matrix, and its mighty power. "If it can give us back Optimus Prime…" I said. "It can do great things."

"You never spoke so well of The great Matrix." She looked at me shocked. I shook my head.

"Sometimes I surprise even myself." I admitted quietly. She looked up to the stars and I let my optics follow hers. I decided it would be best to change the subject. "Look ...the humans named all these star shapes." I pointed out to the southern sky "That is orion a great warrior with a bow and arrow." I said and reached down into the dirt and drew the star image and connected the dots to show the complete image. I liked telling her things she didn't know teaching her, but I also out of selfish reasons was thinking about making a plasma bow.

"It's beautiful." She smiled to me. "Tell me more…" she rested back in my arms. I gave her a slight nod. "very well.." I raised my hand and continued to talk well into the night.

That's how the night went. The two of us, staring up at the sky; Looking for something in those stars. We were searching for some distant hope. Searching for something strong to keep us together; in this hopeless in that vast sea of stars. Chromia went into stasis in the middle of the night and I just held her in my arms and kept her close to me. I could feel her spark in her spark chamber pulse and beat. My own finding its sync with hers and we lay together under our tree, under the stars. I looked up in the sky and looked out. If the matrix was around us, if our hatchling could hear; "we will avenge you." I said and lowered my head setting my internal chronometer so that we would not miss lennox at the gate. I slowly fell into stasis myself not settled with this life, but at the moment at least content with the choices I had made.

The End.


End file.
